WRITERS' RUMPUS

Interview with Author, Editor, and Poet Ryan Van Cleave…And a Double Giveaway!

Today is a very exciting day here on the blog. I have Ryan Van Cleave here with me, who, if you don’t know, is a bit of a writing and poetry rock star. And some of what he does, you may actually not know, because he has ghostwritten many books (in addition to those under his own name) and coaches and mentors many writers behind the scenes.

GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT WRITING A PICTURE BOOK SERIES OR SEQUEL

It had been about a year since my debut picture book, Counting to Bananas (Flamingo Books, April 2022, illustrated by Estrela Lourenço) had been acquired. My editor, Cheryl Eissing, emailed to say her team was exploring the idea of Banana possibly carrying a picture book series. Was I interested? I had never thought about writing a sequel and, as a debut author, never imagined I would be asked to. But was I interested? Seriously? Of course I was bananas about it!

MARCH Middle Grade and Young Adult Opportunities

March 3, 2023 Lexi Donahue

Welcome to the MG/YA Opportunities post! Find all of the monthly opportunities on the MG/YA support page! All opportunities are available to anyone with an internet connection.

March Picture Book Opportunities

February 28, 2023 Marianne Knowles

Online events, classes, contests, and conferences for picture book writers and illustrators for March 2023

Library Girl: How NANCY PEARL Became America’s Most Celebrated Librarian by Karen Henry Clark

February 24, 2023 Keri Demers

Library Girl (May 2022, Penguin Random House, Sasquatch Books) is an incredibly inspiring, well-crafted, true tale of unsung heroine Nancy Pearl and her lifelong commitment

SPELLS for LOST THINGS

February 21, 2023 Marti Johnson

An unlikely storyline in dual POVs that only gets wilder and more fun but is completely grounded by interesting, realistic characters you can’t turn away from.

Editorial: And Then They Came for Kidlit

February 17, 2023 Rebecca Moody

Publishing has seen an explosion of diverse voices and titles over the past decade, but with this success has come an inevitable backlash.

Cybils Award Middle Grade Fiction Finalists

February 14, 2023 Hilary Margitich

Those who know me even a little, know that I am positively NUTTY about good middle grade fiction. Nuttier than a squirrel stuffing her little cheeks full of acorns.

Meet the amazingly talented author/illustrator, Katie Mazeika!

February 10, 2023 Carol Gordon Ekster

Carol Gordon Ekster: Katie Mazeika is in my picture book marketing group, PBrockiteers22. When I read Annette Feels Free: The True Story of Annette Kellerman,

Examining the Personality Traits of Memorable Characters

February 3, 2023 Laura Fineberg Cooper

Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Charlotte, Wilbur, and Fern. Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger, and Christopher Robin. If you read and/or write kidlit, I’m sure you know these well-loved characters and the phenomenally popular books they inhabit. So how do we create characters as memorable as these?

February Picture Book Opportunities

January 31, 2023 Marianne Knowles

Events, classes, contests for picture book writers and illustrators for February 2023

FEBRUARY Middle Grade and Young Adult Opportunities

January 27, 2023 Lexi Donahue

Welcome to the MG/YA Opportunities post! Find all of the monthly opportunities on the MG/YA support page! All opportunities listed are available to anyone with an

HOW AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS INSPIRE EACH OTHER WITHOUT EVER TALKING!

January 27, 2023 Alumni & Guests

Guest Post by Rebecca Gardyn Levington When I first started writing picture books, I was FLABBERGASTED to learn that authors don’t choose the illustrators of

Kidlit Interview with Sarah Darer Littman

January 24, 2023 DrZatHome

DANNA ZEIGER: With antisemitism continuing to rise nationally and globally, Sarah Darer Littman’s book SOME KIND OF HATE couldn’t be better-timed. Not only have recent inciting incidents sparked serious concern and heightened security in places of worship and schools, but they have cultivated genuine – and familiar – fear for Jewish people around the world.